INVESTIGATORSCHECKOUTRUMOROFBODYINCOUNTY

A report received by the Douglas County Sheriff's Department earlier this month might help in the investigation of the death of a man whose body was found in the Wakarusa River south of Topeka a week ago.

Sheriff Loren Anderson talked briefly about the report this morning, one day after the Capital Area Major Case Squad in Topeka announced it was moving the focus of its investigation to Lawrence and Douglas County.

The Major Case Squad, or M-Squad, is looking for information about a body that was discovered Sunday. Authorities said the victim was shot to death and tied to a 45-pound beam before being thrown into the river.

The victim's teeth were pulled, making the use of dental records to identify the victim impossible.

Anderson said that early this month, a Douglas County resident reported to the sheriff's department that he had heard a rumor about someone trying to dispose of a body. Anderson said the report was second- or third-hand and was sketchy on details.

"We could never establish a victim or a suspect or anything else," Anderson said.

Still, Anderson said, the M-Squad is expected to look into the report.

The Lawrence Police Department, the Kansas University Police Department and the Douglas County Sheriff's Department are working with the M-Squad on the case.

This morning, an M-Squad spokesman said that the behavioral science unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation also would be assisting in the case.

Investigators said the victim was white, 20 to 40 years old, 5-feet-9 and 160 pounds. He had brown hair and a surgical scar on his abdomen where his appendix had been removed.